Container cover fastener



Sept. 6, 1955 w. E. WORTH 2,717,167

CONTAINER COVER FASTENER Filed May 29, 1955 /6' Fig. 3

William 5. Wort/7 INVENTOR.

BY puny 5% United States Patent CONTAINER COVER FASTENER William E.Worth, Kodiak, Territory of Alaska Application May 29, 1953, Serial No.358,305

2 Claims. (Cl. 29230) This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements and structural refinements in containers, particularlycontainer covers, and the principal object of the invention is toprovide a container cover with means for effectively locking the same inposition on a container.

Specifically, the invention concerns itself with garbage cans which, asis well known, very often have the covers thereof accidentally orunintentionally dislodged.

Some of the advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity ofconstruction, in its eflicient and convenient operation and in itsadaptability for installation on containers of various sizes and types.

With the above more important objects and features in view, and suchother objects and features as may become apparent as this specificationproceeds, the invention consists essentially of the arrangement andconstruction of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a container andcover, illustrating the invention associated therewith;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken substantiallyin the plane of the line 2-2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view, taken substantially in theplane of the line 33 in Figure 1, and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the finger piece used in theinvention.

Like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in thespecification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the generalreference character designates a conventional container such as agarbage can, or the like, the same having an open top and including alateral wall which is provided in the inner surface adjacent the topthereof with an annular groove 14.

A removable cover 16 is positioned on the open top of the container 10and the essence of novelty in the invention resides in the provision ofmeans for locking the top in position.

These means consist of a pair of spaced parallel bellcranks or detentlimbs 18 which are pivotally attached by means of suitable fulcrum pins20 to a pair of brackets 22 suitably secured to the underside of thecover 16, the arms or limbs 18 having outturned detent portions 24 whichare receivable in diametrically opposite portions of the annular groove14 of the container 10.

The inner end portions of the arms or limbs 18 are seated in an actuatorconsisting of a pair of arcuate, opposing jaws or clamp members 26 whichare mounted 2,7 1 7,16 7 Patented Sept. 6, 1955 by means of a nut 28 ona vertical pin or stud 30 extending through the top or cover 16.

A compression spring 32 is provided on the pin 30 between the cover 16and the upper of the clamp members 26, whereby the two clamp members 26are urged in an operative position with the inner end portions of thedetent arms or limbs 18.

The pin 30 projects upwardly and slidably through the cover 16 and isprovided at the top thereof with a horizontally elongated operating baror finger piece 34, the same being secured on the pin 30 by a nut 36.

The opposite end portions of the finger piece 34 are provided withnotches 38 to slidably receive the side portions of an inverted U-shapedhandle 40 which is secured to the top of the cover 16.

In this manner, the handle 40 provides an effective guide for the fingerpiece 34 and it will be observed that the end portions of the fingerpiece, incident to the formation of the notches 38, are struck out anddownturned so as to afford a pair of stops 42 which are engageable withthe cover 16 to limit the downward, depressing movement of the fingerpiece.

When the cover 16 is to be removed, the finger piece 34 is simply pulledupwardly so as to contract the spring 32,

while the actuator members 26 swing the limbs 18 so as to dislodge thedetent portions 24 from the groove 14 and permit the cover to beremoved.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and de scribed the preferredembodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changesin the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be resortedto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A fastener for container covers having a handle, said fastenerincluding a pair of bellcranks pivotally mounted in the cover, anoperating bar slidable on the handle, means operatively connecting saidbar to one end portion of the bellcranks, and detents on the other endsof the bellcranks engageable with a container for locking the coverthereon, said means including a pin suspended from the bar, said pinbeing slidable through the cover and extending between the bellcranks, apair of opposed, arcuate jaws mounted on the pin with the bellcranksengaged therebetween, and a coil spring on the pin engaged with one ofthe jaws for yieldingly urging said bellcranks toward locking position.

2. A fastener for container covers of the type having a substantiallyU-shaped handle, said fastener comprising a pair of bellcranks pivotallymounted in the cover and engageable with a container for locking saidcover thereon, a horizontal operating bar slidable in the handle, andmeans operatively connecting said bar to the bellcranks, said barincluding downwardly struck stops on its end portions engageable withthe cover and providing pairs at longitudinal guides slidably straddlingthe legs of the andle.

References Cited in the file of this patent

